1. In Australia, birds of prey deliberately start forest fires – wielding flaming sticks to do so. Indigenous people have known of these ‘firehawk raptors’ for quite some time, but now we also have scientific research describing this stunning phenomenon.

2. Here’s an update on what you learned in high school biology – this year we discovered mitochondrial DNA can actually be passed down by males.

3. Scientists have figured out an incredible method for making it rain in the Sahara Desert, and if we went ahead with something so grand, it could produce all the power the world currently uses more than four times over.

4. Viruses are literally raining on us from the sky all the time. In fact, hundreds of millions of viruses per day are deposited above the lowest layer of the atmosphere – much more than anyone suspected.

5. There are ancient messages hidden in the world around us. While Europe was wilting in a surprising heatwave this summer, a drying river in Czechia revealed a dire warning from 1616 carved into sinister ‘hunger stones’.

6. It’s possible to build a device that generates particles with what appears to be ‘negative mass’. These bizarre particles are called polaritons, and they’re half-light, half-matter. Cooooool.

7. There’s a micro-organ in the human immune system we previously didn’t know about. Layered on top of lymph nodes, the thin, flat structures appear to work like biological headquarters for planning a counter-attack to infection.

8. The answer really is 42! More specifically, when scientists counted all the protein molecules in a yeast cell, they were surprised (and we presume delighted) to discover the answer was 42 million.

9. Speaking of cells – for the first time, researchers captured insane footage of a bacterium using its appendages to fish for little bits of DNA from its dead friends. It’s just as incredible as it sounds.

12. Neuroscientists can now connect the brains of three people, enabling them to share thoughts. This wild, pioneering experiment was a proof of concept, and the volunteers played a Tetris-style game together. The end goal? Whole networks of people, all linked together with their minds. Let that sink in.

13. Birds can see magnetic fields – how else would they be able to migrate across our planet as extensively as they do? Now we know that the reason they can achieve this impressive feat is thanks to a special protein in their… eyes.

17. The world’s largest underwater cave is officially located in Mexico, and it spans a staggering 347 kilometres (216 miles). Not only is this branching labyrinth a spectacle to behold, it is also full of Maya secrets and treasures. Bonus fact: This year, scientists also found a gigantic unexplored cave in Canada that may have never been seen with human eyes.

19. There’s more to human DNA than the double helix. Earlier this year, scientists identified a DNA structure never before seen in living cells. They described it as a ‘twisted knot’, a shape previously only seen in the lab.

20. There’s a massive biosphere of life hidden under Earth’s surface – and the scale of this ‘dark biosphere’ is so much larger than previously imagined.